St. John the Baptist Church, Hawkchurch, Overview скачать в хорошем качестве

St. John the Baptist Church, Hawkchurch, Overview

Inside view -    • St. John the Baptist Church, Hawkchurch   St John the Baptist Hawkchurch - History. Although Hawkchurch parish church is one of the most rewarding churches of East Devon, it is not well known. In fact it displays important work of Norman (12th century) and Early English (end of the 12th and early 13th century) date, with a fine tower of the early Tudor period. Its Early English sculpture is surely the finest to be seen in any of Devon's churches, and its well-preserved series of Norman corbels includes some of the most delightful and interesting Romanesque carvings in the county. The Historian w. G. Hoskins said the original name of the village was "Hafoc'schurch", indicating the presence of a church here in pre Norman times. An alternative suggested spelling is "Avekchurche". The first recorded date of a Rector is 1295 and by that time most of the village had, as part of the hundred of Whitchurch, become the property of the Abbey of Cerne. The church displays the following series of phases of development: 1. The Norman chancel arch is the earliest visible component of the church, datable to the early 12h century. This must have formed part of a two-cell (nave and chancel) plan, probably without aisles. (Although it has been suggested that there may be traces of the putative Anglo-Saxon church after which Hawkchurch is named, there are no surviving traces of it). 2. The addition of a north aisle and arcade, probably in the mid 12th century. 3. The rebuilding of the south side with an aisle and arcade in the Early English style, about 1200. 4. The rebuilding of the tower in the early 16th century. 5. The major reconstruction of the church of 1859-61 entailed the rebuilding of the choir and the external walls of the aisles, with the insertion of a taller clerestory into the nave, allowing more light into the body of the church. Most of the walls of the church are built of local Greensand chert rubble. The faces of the tower display good examples of this knapped chert. HAM HILL STONE The Victorian church dressings are entirely of the characteristic ginger-coloured shelly limestone with dark brown streaks, quarried at Ham Hill in Somerset. Ham Hill was evidently used in small quantities in the 12th century (there are a few examples at the west end of the north arcade) but other more local sources were more popular. It became increasingly popular in the later Middle Ages, and was commonly used in this area of Devon and Dorset in the 15th and 16th centuries. Most of the freestone used in the early 16th century tower, including the archway into the nave, are of Ham Hill stone. LOCAL YELLOW LIAS The bulk of the fine freestone used in the 12th and 13th century fabric consists of fine yellow limestone whose precise source (or sources) is (or are ) uncertain. In the north chancel respond the round forms of Belemnites can be seen, showing that the stone is of the Jurassic date. It is probably from a fairly local quarry. SALCOMBE STONE A sandy yellow limestone with a scatter of broken shell was quarried in the manor of the Dean and Chapter of Exeter Cathedral at Salcombe Regis. Visual inspection of the 12th century corbel table on each side of the nave strongly suggests that much of this is in Salcombe stone. It is possible that some of the interior is also from Salcombe. THE SOUTH ARCADE AND AISLE The south aisle is particularly accomplished work with excellent carvings. It consists of three bays, each with a semi-circular arch. Its high quality sets it apart from the normal run of parish building work in Devon, and it seems likely that it reflects the employment of a carver connected with a major workshop. The centre famous for work of this date and style is Wells Cathedral; the similarity to work in the transepts and nave there seems to be sufficiently close to suggesting that the Hawkchurch carver may have come from the Wells workshop. The arcade is formed of three semi-circular arches in the Norman style but the form of the mouldings and the character of the sculpture are of the succeeding period. This mix of styles is not uncommon in the generation in which Gothic forms became established; other examples in the county include Farway church and the chapter house of Torre Abbey, Torquay. The work at Hawkchurch appears to be later in date than the accomplished late 12th century work at nearby Whitchurch Canonicorum, which also shows transitional mix of late Norman and Early English features. More information on wikipedia.